Senate, House Pass Temporary Spending Bill

WASHINGTON -- The House passed a two-week spending patch on Thursday aimed at averting a government shutdown this weekend.

The Senate is expected to pass the measure later Thursday, extending the government's funding through Dec. 21. It passed the House on a voice vote Thursday. President Trump has said he would sign the short-term extension.

Seven spending bills are currently set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, as lawmakers face an impasse over whether to increase funding for border security. Mr. Trump has demanded $5 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico, but Democrats have balked.

Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) have said they would be willing to pass the six less-controversial spending bills and extend current funding for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the border wall, for one year.

But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R., Texas) said Thursday that a one-year extension of Homeland Security funding wouldn't be acceptable to the White House.

The last sweeping spending bill, which passed in March, included funding for new fencing and levee walls, as well as technology, but prohibited the administration from building a solid concrete border wall.

The negotiations over the border funding have caused tension among some Democrats. Mr. Schumer has said that Senate Democrats support the $1.6 billion for border security included in a bipartisan Senate bill. But some House Democrats have worried that Democratic leaders may end up agreeing to some wall funding during the negotiations. Both Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Pelosi have said they are opposed to funding for a physical wall.

--Andrew Duehren and

Natalie Andrews

contributed to this article.

Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 06, 2018 13:17 ET (18:17 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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